The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.
Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
